Power supplies for integrated circuits (ICs) include inductive elements which generate transients due to machine startup, particularly clock start and clock stop.
The transients manifest as noise which is unacceptable for certain applications. The problem is particularly acute in high performance VLSI chips.
The conventional solution is to use large decoupling capacitors between the power supply and ground. These capacitors must be supplied on the chip or off the chip. On-chip capacitors are expensive to implement and consume valuable die area. Off-chip capacitors are not as effective.
A second conventional approach to the problem involves the use of resistors between the power supply and the load. However, this often results in a degradation of voltage regulation.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a system or technique for mitigating power supply transients on the application of power to integrated circuits.